Stay Beautiful
by DreamboundGal
Summary: 'You and I are a story...And it never gets told. But I just wanted to tell you that we...we are the authors. We made it through the hard times. But I'm sorry that I couldn't be with you now. I miss you so much...' - Future Chapter
1. Meeting Jim

**Chapter One**

Well this is a bunch of crap. Nothing could make tonight worse than it already is. My father, being the strictest man in the whole galaxy, has grounded me from going out, seeing the garden about five minutes from home, and leaving the house.

He is bound to be one of the _worst_ fathers _ever_.

My life sucks.

But at least I still have my silver ring with an amethyst crystal on it that I had gotten from my mother. It always made me smile, no matter the situation.

I looked at the ring on my right hand, but I was still frowning. The reason why is: if I'm grounded, I can't see my mother's grave that is in the garden.

I lazily rolled myself out of bed after thinking for a good half hour, and walked outside to the balcony, putting my elbows in the edge and resting my head in my hands, staring at the stars.

I saw something out of the corner of my eye.

I turned my head quickly so I wouldn't miss it.

That _it _happened to be a Solar-Surfer.

With someone riding on it.

It seems like I've been watching the Solar-Surfer for a whole ten minutes, following it with my gaze.

As I was watching, I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to be free once more.

_I'm never gonna get out of here, _I thought, _I'm gonna become an old, crazy lady who lives alone in this house, then I'll die, and then I will decay. I want to be free...I want to be free again, forever and always..._

I buried my face in my hands for at least twenty minutes, tears streaming down my face, my shoulders heaving up and down violently.

That's when I felt strange.

Like someone was..._watching_ me.

I lifted my head up only to see deep blue eyes staring into my own brown ones.

I jumped, stepping back some steps as I did.

"Hey! I didn't mean to scare you! Are you okay? I was just around on my Solar-Surfer, and, I saw you here, looking really upset, so, I just wanted to see if you were okay..."

His voice was calm and soft...and caring.

He had long chestnut-tone bangs framing his face with a buzz-cut in the back, having the rest of his hair in a clenched ponytail.

He was wearing a faded goldish-brown rolled-up-long-sleeved shirt, pine-tree-green pants, and black boots with red linings on them.

To him, I must've looked ridiculous, just standing there in my faded, plain baby-blue shorts that went to above my knees, and a white tee that went to my thighs.

After a long silence, he finally spoke again.

"So...are you okay?"

I wiped the tears from my eyes, nodding.

He flew over the edge and onto the balcony's platform, then he flipped the sail down on his Solar-Surfer as it powered down to a stop. He stepped off his ride and walked over to me.

"Are you sure you're okay? I mean, you looked _really _upset..."

"I'm fine..." I whispered, and not knowing why I bothered to answer because I was still running the freedom thoughts through my head. "I just...I just need to get out of this place—"

I burst out into tears, burying my face in my hands again and turning, not wanting him to see me bawl like a kindergarten baby.

"Hey..."

I heard his footsteps come closer.

I felt gentle hands on my shoulders, and I suddenly felt as if the teenage boy cared. As if one person that had entered my life actually cared about me. The feeling was great. But I couldn't help but continue to cry, because no one had cared about me this way ever since my mother had died.

"It's okay, I'm right here if you need me."

I tried to turn to face him to tell him I wanted to leave my home with him, but I turned too fast, making me run into him, my face banging against his chest.

"Whoa! Hey, easy, what's wrong?"

I stuttered between soft, soft sobs, "I...I just...I want..."

"What? What do you want? You can tell me, it's okay," he whispered to me, as if trying not to speak too loud, as if he was thinking I was fragile.

I calmed myself down a bit by thinking I could talk to him, because he was different than the other guys I had met in the past, the jerks and traitors and cheaters that had nearly ripped my heart from my chest by doing whatever they did best: breaking hearts.

I finally got a hold of myself, and looked up at him, straight in the eye.

"I can't stand it anymore, being here. I...I know it's stupid and it's weird, but I want to leave. I want to escape this prison. And I don't have anyone to turn to that can help me. But...you...you came into my life just now. And you're the only one that can think of that can help me escape this death-trap. Please...just...get me out of here..." I begged him, hoping he would understand what I was saying. I couldn't believe I had the guts to drop everything that was wrong and just talk to him about what I wanted to do just now.

I buried my head in his shirt, grasping it tightly in my hands as well, never wanting to let go. Ever.

I heard him sigh.

I felt my heart sink into my stomach.

I knew that his sigh was a sign I couldn't leave with him on his Solar-Surfer and escape this house of death.

He grabbed my shoulders, but he was gentle, and carefully, he pulled me away from himself, but only a little, and looked me in the eye.

"If I help you, I want you to promise me that you will leave a note to your parents, telling them you are with _Jim Hawkins_, who lives in the _Benbow Inn_. Can you do that for me?" He gave me a small smile, thinking it would make me melt and do what he had told me too.

His thought was right.

His smile...it just made me get this warm, delighted feeling inside.

I nodded, then turned out of his grip and ran inside to my room, which was what the balcony was hooked up to, and packed up all my best dresses, shoes and gloves; I grabbed my books, my toothpaste and toothbrush out of my bathroom, my pajamas to last me months—and all of my crap was going into my bottomless black-and-gold-embroidered bag, the one that never seems to run out of room.

It was only a tad bit heavy to carry once I was done packing up (which took me eight minutes tops).

I carried the bag out to the boy who was still standing there where I had left him, and plopped it down onto the ground before I turned and headed back to my room to write the note, like I had promised.

"_Dear Father,_

_I am sick and tired of being treated like I'm a worthless nothing. Therefore, I am leaving now. I must go with Jim Hawkins to the Benbow Inn. You can find me there, but I highly recommend that you do NOT look for me at all._

_Love,_

_Noelle _

I put the note on my pillow that lied on my neatly-made bed.

I gave my room one last look, then went to the balcony with the boy.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"I'm ready...and...thank you, a million times, for letting me go with you. I...I didn't expect that."

"No problem." He gave me a big smile as he fired up his Solar-Surfer.

As I was about to get on with him, a voice made my heart nearly stop.

"**_STOP RIGHT THERE, YOUNG LADY_**!"

I froze.

**A/N: Well, that's it for now. I hope you all liked it. I tried to make it as detailed as posible, but yet I failed. This is my first fanfic on this site, so, no flames, & please be nice. ^_^**


	2. Someone Is Watching Us

**Chapter Two**

**It was my father.**

"**Get over here. Right now," He lowered his voice to a serious tone, and I could feel his moss-green eyes burning with fury.**

**I gave Jim one last look, then I turned away from him and walked over to my father, who was tapping his foot impatiently, his arms crossed.**

**He went into a furious rage.**

"**WHO do you think you ARE? Running off with some strange kid who's looking for trouble! He—"**

"**I'm not looking for any trouble, Sir," Jim cut in, and I swerved my head to him, staring at his innocent and pleading expression.**

"**YOU are NOT in this conversation, young man, so STAY OUT OF IT!"**

"**Yes, Sir," Jim hung his head low.**

**I was infuriated by my father for yelling at Jim like that. What did he ever do to my father? Nothing. My point exactly. No one has the right to accuse Jim of anything, not even my father who accuses everyone about everything.**

**I made my head turn to my father, and it was my turn to shout.**

"**NO! YOU, Daddy, don't have the slightest RIGHT to yell at Jim like that! HE is MY friend, but you have the right to just LEAVE US ALONE. YOU do not have ANY rights whatsoever to accuse him about looking for trouble. YOU are the one that's looking for TROUBLE. You think you have every right to go ahead and do whatever you want, but it's not like that, okay? You can't just do and say whatever you want, Daddy! YOU have to pay the CONSIQUENCES!" I could feel my face burning a bright pink with anger, my hands clenched into fists, my heart racing. Never before had I felt this mad.**

**Daddy just stood there for a moment before his expression of shock turned into one of infuriation.**

**He grabbed my wrists and lifted me a few inches off the ground, my face up to his.**

**I was frightened now, but still angry.**

**In a dead-pan tone, he whispered to me, "You are the one to pay the consequences, my dear. You are the one that must pay. You don't have the right to speak to me like that. You should die," he raised his voice at the last part, "JUST LIKE YOUR MOTHER!"**

**He let go of me, and I dropped onto my back. He grabbed the collar of my shirt with both hands and dragged me to the edge of the balcony.**

**I screamed like I was being murdered, "JIM!"**

**Jim was already in action, trying to get Daddy to let me go, beating on my father's hands, screaming at the top of his lungs,**

"**YOU LET HER GO, YOU CRAZY OLD MAN! LET HER GO! LET HER GO!"**

**Daddy released one hand off my shirt and raised it at Jim.**

**I closed my eyes tightly while covering them with my shaking hands.**

_**SLAP!**_

**I heard a loud **_**TUMP**_**, and removed my hands from my now-opened eyes, and screamed, "NOOO! JIM!"**

**Daddy grabbed me once more with the hand that had been released, and lifted my body up and over the edge of the balcony.**

**I couldn't even think about what I was doing, and before I knew it my leg swung back then heaved itself forward, knocking Daddy square in the jaw, and he tumbled backwards, letting go of me.**

**I screamed bloody murder.**

**Jim immediately stood up and ran, grabbing his Solar-Surfer with my bag, and jumping over the edge of the balcony, just barely getting onto his Solar-Surfer. But he made it on.**

**He put it into full gear to try to get to where I was in the air.**

**Jim stretched his arm as far out as it could go and grabbed me by my waist, pulling me onto his Solar-Surfer, and making sure I was okay before zooming off at hyper-speed.**

_AT THE BENBOW INN... _

**I was still shaking when Jim helped me step off the Solar-Surfer.**

"**It's okay, you're safe now," He whispered as he took my bag with one hand while placing the other gently around my violently-heaving shoulders.**

**It's not like I could help it, though. I was nearly killed tonight.**

"**You're going to be okay, you're with me now,"**

**I choked back sobs and tried not to blink, because if I did, tears would be pouring down my cheeks like a waterfall. **

**Jim opened the entrance door to the Benbow Inn, and let me go inside first, letting go of me for only a moment before putting his arm around my shoulders again once I was inside and he closed the door.**

**A woman with a messy brown ponytail and a dress with a red torso, a faded, goldish-brown lower part, and a white apron on turned the moment she heard the door close.**

"**Jim! Who's this?" she asked while picking up some dirty plates and bowls from a table. I'm guessing she was his mother.**

"**She's a friend of mine, and she needs some place to stay for a while," Jim explained, leading me over to the woman, "Please, Mom?" **

**My guess was right.**

"**Okay," She spoke slowly, "and how long does she need to stay?"**

**Jim hesitated a bit.**

"**Um...Not that long, I promise. I'll tell you what happened later,"**

**His mom nearly dropped the dishes as she was carrying them to the counter. She placed them there, then turned quickly to Jim. **

"**Something **_**happened**_**?" **

"**Mom, it's no big deal, she just needs a place to stay for a while, that's all..." Jim said in a little bit of an annoyed tone.**

**I stayed silent the whole time they were discussing.**

**After a long and awkward silence, Jim spoke again.**

"**I'll take her to the guest room."**

**He led me up the stairs and down a hall that was to the right, and stopped at the second door down the hall. **

**Jim opened the door and turned on the light to reveal a bright room with a rosy-colored wallpaper, a queen-sized bed with faded red sheets and white pillows, a white dresser, a pale red closet that wasn't within the walls, and a window with white sills. **

**It looked almost exactly like the room I had at home. Not good.**

"**Well, this is the guest room," Jim finally mentioned.**

"**It's lovely," I said softly, still looking around the room in shock, but not letting it show.**

"**This is where you'll be staying."**

"**Jim, I don't want to sound rude, or childish, but...I can't sleep in here."**

"**Why? Is something wrong?"**

"**It just looks like the room I had back home..."**

**Jim looked a bit guilty.**

"**Ooohh...Well then, um...well I just recently got a corner couch in my room, and it's big enough for you to sleep on. If you want to sleep on it that's fine, I have an extra pillow and some blankets."**

**I looked at Jim and smiled the tiniest smile I could muster up. **

**He smiled widely before turning off the lights and closing the door, leading me to his room, which was right next door to the left.**

**Jim opened his bedroom door, and turning on the lights, he motioned for me to enter first. **

**As I entered the room, I saw posters of famous Solar-Surfers, a picture of Jim, his mom, and his father in a black frame sitting on his nightstand, and strange devices that I've never seen before.**

**I walked over to the couch and sat down, resting my hands on my lap.**

"**Nice posters," I told Jim, still staring at them.**

"**Thanks," he replied, slipping off his boots and placing them by his nightstand. Then he turn to me and said, "I'll be back with a pillow and blankets," **

**And with that Jim left the room.**

**I just sprawled out on the couch and closed my eyes, smiling to myself.**

_LATER THAT NIGHT AROUND 2:45AM..._

**I kept twisting and turning, not wanting to put up with the nightmare anymore. I thrust myself to the right, and fell off the couch with a loud **_**THUMP**_**. **

**Jim didn't seem to hear, because he just mumbled and rolled over.**

**I was on the floor, holding myself to stop my body from shaking.**

**I got up and slowly walked over to Jim's bedside. **

**I poked his cheek.**

"**Jim?"**

**He grunted.**

**I poked his nose.**

"**Jim?"**

**He rolled away from me.**

**That's it.**

**I smacked his arm.**

**He immediately sat up and turned to me. **

**He whispered hoarsely, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING? IT'S—"**

**Jim stopped to look at his clock.**

"—**TWO FORTY-SIX IN THE MORNING! WHAT IN THE GALAXY IS THE MATTER?"**

**He then stopped and looked at me with a guilty expression.**

"**Aw, jeez, I'm sorry...I'm just tired and restless, that's all...So, what's wrong?" He rubbed his eyes, then looked back at me once more.**

"**I just...I couldn't sleep...I had a bad dream, and I had to throw myself out of bed just to get the images out of my mind..." I said sheepishly. **

**He stared at me for a moment, then sighed. **

"**Come on..." Jim patted the place next to him on the bed. "Unless you want nightmares again..."**

**I shook my head 'no' like crazy and crawled into the bed, nearly disappearing under the covers I was so cold and scared.**

"**Better?" Jim asked while getting back under the covers.**

"**Yes...thank you, Jim. And I know I sounded like a child, but—" I started, but he cut me off.**

"**Nah, it's fine." He rolled away from me, "Good night."**

"**Good night, Jim..."**

_AROUND 4:12AM..._

**That's when I heard it. A small, tiny, little creak. That's all it took for me to sit straight up in bed with my heart pounding.**

"**Jim..." I whispered.**

"**Mmm..."**

**I got onto my knees and leaned over Jim, poking his cheek like I had done when I tried to wake him up around three AM.**

**He groaned, "Uuuuhhh...go away..."**

**I poked his nose like I had done before. If he didn't wake up, I would smack his arm next.**

**He rolled over to face me, and I stopped leaning over him, but I was still on my knees, leaning on my heels. **

"**Jim?"**

"**...mmmm..."**

**That's it.**

_**SMACK!**_

**I bet that'll wake this sleepy-head up. Plus that's the second time I had to smack his arm. So he deserved it, not waking up when I needed him to. And I need him to wake up now.**

"**OW! WHAT?" He sat up on his side to glare at me for waking him up so early again. **

"**I don't think we're alone, Jim..." I murmured silently.**

"**What?"**

"**I think someone is watching us. I think they're in the closet...And I can't sleep when I have this feeling, Jim. **_**Someone**__**is**__**watching us**_**."**


	3. The Escape Plan

**Chapter Three**

"What do you mean?" he asked, confused and tired.

"I _mean_, we're _not_ alone! There's someone in here! _Watching _us, _waiting _for us to fall asleep before they can _murder_ us!"

Jim just shook his head, smiling.

"Man, you've lost it. There's no one in here but us. You'll be fine. Now go back to sleep." He said, lying back down and rolling onto his side away from me.

_How come he didn't hear anything? Was he deaf or something? _WHY _am I the _ONLY_ one who _HEARS_ things?_

_**TEN MINUTES LATER…**_

Ugh. Now I have to get his attention again. I've been up the past ten minutes, and I _still _hear creaking noises.

But now I still sit up, and instead of looking around every two seconds _paranoid_, I sat _frozen_.

I heard it clearer now.

_Breathing_.

Slow, deep, heavy breathing.

And it _wasn't_ Jim.

Without taking my eyes off the closet, I felt around for Jim's arm, and when I found it, I slapped it hard.

"JEEZ, WOMAN! WHAT IS IT NOW?" He said hoarsely, giving me his meanest 'Death-Stare'.

"Shhh! LISTEN!" I whispered harshly.

We sat silently for about two minutes.

I couldn't hear the breathing anymore.

Aww, _crap_! It probably stopped because the person heard me wake up Jim for the (at least) fifth time tonight.

Jim's going to _**kill**_ me.

And I mean it. He will.

He let out an annoyed sigh.

"I don't hear anything."

"Please, Jim, just _listen_! They _have_ to breathe _sometime_!"

He covered his face with one hand, shaking his head.

"Honestly, I don't know _why_ you're so paranoid. It's nothing. Now go to sleep."

"No, Jim, JUST _**LISTEN**_!" I nearly was shouting.

"SHHH! Do you want to wake up my mom? Jeez,"

He sounded aggravated, which made me feel ashamed for being so paranoid.

"Jim…?"

"What?"

"Sorry for annoying you and making you mad every time I wake you up. It's just that I can't help but get this feeling that someone's going to sneak in during the day when no one is looking and then go ahead and kill the innocent at night…" I spoke softly, still ashamed for making Jim so upset and angry.

"It's fine…Sometimes I get paranoid too, thinking that whenever I see a ship, that some gang of pirates are going to jump out and kidnap me or something. Trust me; I've had a pretty rough experience with pirates…" Jim explained before becoming silent.

After a long silence, I spoke.

"I'm sorry, Jim…"

"Nah, it's okay…"

"No, really, Jim I—" I was cut off when I heard a loud _creeeaaakkk_.

My eyes went from Jim's to the closet immediately.

I scooted closer to Jim, who was frozen. I'm guessing he finally heard what I have been talking about almost all night.

There was another _creeeaaakkk_, but this time it was louder than the last. Suddenly, all the noises I heard became louder: the creaking sounds, me and Jim's hesitant breathing patterns, and my heart thumping in my chest.

The door to the closet opened ever so slowly, revealing something that glistened like a diamond underneath the moonlight that came streaming through the curtains, even if the glisten was somewhat dull and not very bright.

It was a revolver.

I wanted to scream, but I knew I'd be shot if I did.

Jim just gawked at the weapon, and then his eyes moved upward to see an older man, around his mid-twenties, step out from the closet, dressed in a set black: a short-sleeved shirt, army-like baggy pants, and heavy-duty boots with barely-noticeable dead-grass tan linings. The man had a goatee. And his boots were almost like Jim's, but bigger and with a different liner color.

"Shhh," the man whispered, putting a finger over his mouth, "And no one gets hurt…"

Next out of the closet was a more plump man who looked to be around his earlier-twenties. He wore a loose red tank top (which did him no justice), a pair of the same pants as the older man (only white), and red-and-white liner boots.

The plump man gave me a huge, sick and twisted sneer, and I just scooted closer to Jim, nearly having him over the edge of the bed.

"Come here, children," murmured the older man, "Quickly, and quietly. No one will get shot as long as that little rule is followed."

Jim took a hold of my hand, and we got off the bed, making our way slowly across the room over to the two creeper-men.

"Good," the man with the goatee cooed, "Now, come."

He nodded his head at the portly man and the fat creeper-guy walked behind us and grabbed Jim's right shoulder fiercely as well as my left one, shoving us to the window.

"Now," the fat one said, "you two get on the Captain's ship, and you two ah gonna be quiet lil' mousies." His voice was high-pitched and really annoying, and not to mention nasally.

Jim and I made our way carefully and quickly out the window, grasped the dangling rope close to the window that hung over the side of the ship, and made our way on board.

Once we had stepped on board, there was no way off.

_**LATER THAT MORNING, AROUND 7:53AM…**_

This is a LOAD of crap, being put below deck, locked up in the cook's quarters, and my right hand being handcuffed to Jim's left one.

I let my head go down and it banged against the hard, wooden table we were sitting at.

"Hey, don't hurt yourself there," Jim cautioned, "or else you're gonna regret it."

I mumbled in reply, "I regret it already."

"Regret what?"

"Begging you to take me home just to escape my house of death and my psycho-path dad." I sighed. "I should've just never been out on the balcony for you to see me…"

Jim put his non-handcuffed hand on my shoulder, then said, "You don't mean that,"

My head shot up from the table and turned to face him.

"Don't you get it? I messed up! I should've just stayed locked up in my room where I belong! I don't deserve my so-called 'freedom' that I have now! I don't deserve anything! I don't—" I broke down again, bursting into tears, leaning my head into Jim's chest, sobbing uncontrollably until my lungs were about to give out.

Jim released his hand from my shoulder, sighing softly.

"Look," he murmured, "We're going to get out of this mess, I promise you…All we need is a plan…"

Jim looked around the cook's quarters and grinned.

I wonder what he had in mind, because I've never seen that look on his face before.

"Hey, I think I've got something…"

Jim motioned for me to follow him, so I did, and he led me quietly over to a drawer.

He opened it, and there, in that drawer, lie the knives, large and small, fat and thin.

Jim picked up the smallest one he could find, twirling it carefully and slowly in his hand. Then he spoke,

"We're gonna get out of here, I promised,"

He grinned that same, crazed grin that he had on his face when he had told me he had something in mind.

I swallowed hard, hoping he didn't plan on hurting me.

"Now look," he whispered to me, "I'm gonna get a deep, red sauce, and then I want you to make it look like you're splattered with blood, then—"

"Jim!" I cut him off. "I can't do that, I can't just be something I'm not! I'm not good at playing dead! I'm useless to you now! I'm telling you, I _can't play dead_!"

He sighed, and put the knife back, looking disappointed.

His head shot right back up after two seconds of having it hung low.

"Wait a minute…"

He looked at the door, then at the smallest knife once more.

"New plan…" Jim smiled as if he'd lost his mind.


	4. The Island

_**Chapter Four**_

"Okay, so here's the plan," Jim started, "I'm going to _pick_ the lock _tonight_, and then you sneak on board, and then you get a life boat all set up, and when you give me the sign, _I_ sneak on board with some food and supplies, and then we speed off like there was a gang of pirates after us! IT'S BRILLIANT!" Jim had sped up his explanation until he had to take deep breaths after he had finished talking.

"Jim, I don't know about this…" I twisted a strand of my wavy blonde hair nervously.

"Aw, come on! You want to get out of here, don't you?"

"Well, yeah…"

"So then we're going through with the plan. That's it, end of discussion!" Jim sounded angry and really annoyed.

I sighed, "Fine,"

"I mean, we don't _have_ to, we _could_ stay locked up and handcuffed together _forever_." Jim said sarcastically, smiling.

"Yeah, uh-huh, suuure, _great idea_, Jim!" I rolled my eyes as I also spoke in a sarcastic tone.

"Hey, that's all I got! What's _your_ idea, genius?"

"This is _no _time to be a smart-mouth, Jim!"

"Well this is no time to _panic_, either!"

"Who said I was panicking? I'm not panicking!"

"Yes, you are!"

"Let me correct you, Jim, _NO_ I'm _NOT_."

Jim folded his arms across his chest, taking my right hand with them.

I pulled on my arm as hard as I could with my free hand, but it was no use.

"Jim," I said in an aggravated tone.

"Yes?" he asked sweetly, almost innocently. But I knew he knew what I was thinking about him folding his arms along with my hand. So he wasn't innocent.

"Can I have my hand back?"

"Say it nicely."

"May I have my hand back?"

"Say it like you mean it."

"Jim," I tried again.

"Yes?"

"May I, pretty _please_ with _sugar_ and _gumdrops _on _top_, have my hand back?"

Jim sat silently for a moment, putting his 'thinking' face on.

"Well…"

I muttered under my breath, "Why you—"

"I don't appreciate the sarcasm, but…"

"But?"

"Yes you may. You may have your hand back."

He unfolded his arms, allowing me to have my hand back.

"Thank you," I mumbled.

"Anytime," he said, smiling.

I heard a soft click coming from the left, and so I turned; only to see the heavy wooden door swing open, revealing the man with the goatee.

"Now, children," he began, "We're here. You may do whatever you like on this little island, but I am warning you, I have rules that you need to follow. Unless," he paused, "you want to die…"

He grinned a sick grin at me; like that fat guy had done when they had surrounded us at the Benbow Inn.

Jim and I exchanged a worried look before walking over to the man.

"Come on, now, it'll be fun. You can do whatever your little hearts desire, as long as you follow my rules."

The man motioned for us to follow him onto the deck, so we did, making sure that we kept a safe distance from him.

As we were walking off the board that led us off the ship and onto the island, I felt like someone was staring at me.

I turned my head first to the man. Nope. He was staring straight ahead, not even bothering to look at me.

I motioned my head to Jim, and his blue eyes met my own brown ones.

He looked away quickly, as if trying to avoid eye contact with me.

I turned my head to face forward to see where Jim and I will be staying for a while.

Turned out, it was a mist-and-fog covered island with ruins everywhere: columns, old stone buildings, and wells here and there.

But the things that were covering the island as well as the ruins were plants and vines.

"So, my little children," the man finally spoke, "this is your new home. If you attempt to run away, you die. If you destroy my robot droid, you die. Other than that, you two are free to do whatever your hearts desire."

He turned the way he had came and boarded the ship, taking off at hyper speed.

"Well, Jim," I said, "this is when the test of survival begins."

**_NIGHTTIME, 11:32PM…_**

And so we sat. We sat there, in the middle of a crumbling building. We sat silently. Thinking quietly to ourselves.

Jim finally broke the silence,

"Hey…"

"What?"

"Are you just about as bored as I am?"

"Hmm, I don't know, what do _you_ think?"

"I'll take that as a 'yes'."

Complete and utter silence.

I opened my eyes for the first time in ten minutes of sitting back-to-back with Jim, and I saw something move out of the corner of my eye.

I turned my head swiftly but fast.

The thing was gone.

"Jim!"

"What?"

"I think there's someone else here…"

"And yet again, you're paranoid. It's nothing."

"Yeah, you said that _last_ time, _now_ look where we are!"

"…"

Jim spoke after being silent for a moment,

"And your point _is_…?"

"My point _is_, if you _ever _doubt me in the _future_, just know that you'll regret it." I warned Jim.

"Yeah, uh-huh, sure…"

I could sense that Jim had rolled his eyes at my warning.

I stood up, but I was leaning down, trying to get Jim to come with me and find out who else was here.

"Come on, lazy!"

"I'm not lazy!"

"If you aren't lazy, then stand up!"

"I'm—too tired…"

"Yeah, sure, of course you're tired. You're tired of being lazy, so you're going to get up right now and come with me to go and check it out!"

"Check what out?"

"THAT THING I SAW!"

"WHAT THING?"

"I DON'T KNOW! BUT I WANT TO FIND OUT!"

"WELL TOO FREAKIN' BAD!"

Jim gave me his meanest, dirtiest, most angry 'Death-Stare' he could muster up.

I glared at him.

"Okay, fine." He gave in, and climbing to his feet, Jim followed me.

I led him some ways to my right and up a set long, still-somewhat-crumbling stairs.

Once we reached the top of the stairs, I instantly wished I hadn't even bothered to be curious about whatever it was I had seen out of the corner of my eye. But I was thankful and relieved that Jim was by my side.

I turned away, covering my mouth with my un-cuffed hand, feeling sick.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Jim asked, turning as well, putting his free hand on my shoulder.

Apparently he didn't see what I did.

"Look what's in between the pillars on the ground…" I managed to say.

Jim turned his head, looked where I had told him to, and jumped.

"Oh…my…"

"Jim…?" I whispered quietly.

"What…?" he asked, still in shock.

"Can we leave now?" I choked back a sob, "Please?"

"Yeah, it'd be best if we did…"

Jim was about to lead me down the stairs when we heard a rather odd sound, as if something mechanical was moving.

We both swerved our heads quickly to the skeleton that lie between the pillars.

It was moving.

And it was coming at us.

Fast.


	5. Death and Departure

_**Chapter Five**_

Along the way, I noticed that the now-alive skeleton had grabbed an old, rusting sword out of a crack in the ground, and was coming straight at me and Jim.

We tried to tug in different directions to escape, forgetting we were handcuffed together still.

We failed at going in different directions, but we were far enough apart that when the sword finally swung at us after the skeleton was close enough to strike, the weapon had broken the handcuffs. Man, they weren't as heavy-duty handcuffs as I thought they'd be.

Jim and I fell in our own directions.

Jim was the one to get up and onto his feet first.

"**_STAY DOWN_**!" he warned me, getting in the way of the skeleton's path to me while putting up his clenched fists. "I can take this creep! BRING IT ON, SKELEY!"

The skeleton's eye sockets went red on the inside, and that's when I realized it was the robot droid that the man with the goatee had told us about.

The droid raised its sword high above its head and the robot was making its way, ever so slowly now, over to me.

Jim was in action by the time the droid had raised the sword as high as it could.

Jim went behind the droid, got down on the ground on his hands, and swung his legs behind the droid and hitting it, knocking the robot to the ground and the sword a few feet away.

He got up and ran to the sword, picked it up, and came back over to where I was, standing in front of me once more.

"Stay _back_, you _freak_!" Jim warned the droid as the thing slowly advanced to its feet.

I got to my feet as well, but quicker than the robot.

I stood behind Jim, clutching his shirt with both hands, hoping he wouldn't get hurt trying to protect me.

When Jim stepped back only about an inch, he nearly sent me tumbling over the edge and down the stairs.

_If he takes __**ONE **__**MORE STEP**__—I'm gonna kill him, _I thought.

Suddenly, the droid had lost all patience with Jim, grabbing him by the front of his shirt, holding him up in mid-air with one arm.

I was still hanging onto Jim, which meant we were both in mid-air.

The droid swung its foot back and then knocked me straight in the stomach, sending me toppling down the stairs, almost halfway down before I hit the stairs with my back I cried out in shock.

Jim's stare went to glare as he turned back to the robot.

"WHY YOU—" Jim shouted, lunging at the droid with his sword.

But it was no use.

I was in pain, and Jim was in trouble: the droid had dodged the stupid sword, and grabbing Jim from behind, began to spin in circles at hyper-speed. What in the galaxy was that thing doing? Oh no. Not that. _Anything_ but _that_!

The droid stopped spinning and let Jim go, the sword dropping to the ground.

My eyes followed Jim's limp body until he disappeared into a deep blue lake of crystal clear water.

I screamed Jim's name at the top of my lungs.

I turned my head to see the droid coming at me with, thankfully, nothing in its hands.

I got to my feet slowly and made my way up the steps to the robot.

When I was about three feet away I took one more step, lifted my leg, and gave that creep one big butt-whoopin'. Except I hit it more in the gut.

I grabbed it in a headlock, and twisted the thing's head as hard as I could until it finally ripped loose, wires and all.

I had scratched myself pretty good on the back of my hands from ripping off the droid's head. I noticed that the scratches were from the sharp, pointed tips of the droid's cracked 'skeleton' head.

I tried to shake off the pain as I made my way carefully but quickly down the stairs to where Jim was thrown.

I finally made it, except I didn't see Jim anywhere. He must've gone underwater.

I rushed into the somewhat-clear water, searching above and below surface until I finally saw him.

His body was limp and it was beginning to sink deeper into the water.

I swam above surface over to where he was, grabbing him from under his arms with one of my arms, his back to me, and I used my other arm to pathetically swim back to where I had gotten into the water: a low, not-that-steep little hill that led down to the pool of cool, clear water.

When we finally got to the low, descending hill, I laid Jim's head on my shoulder, holding his dead body, tears streaming uncontrollably down my face.

"Jim…" I whispered to his corpse, "I didn't mean for this to happen…I-I screwed up…I…" I broke down into tears again.

That's when I decided I couldn't take it anymore. I screamed bloody-murder for at least fifteen seconds until my throat was sore, and then rested my head on Jim's, crying, speaking softly to him.

"Jim, I'm so sorry...I didn't mean for you to die...I should've been the one to die, I deserve it. Someone, please, just kill me now..."

I wish I had died. Not Jim.

Suddenly, I felt as if life wasn't worth completing anymore.

I raised my head up. Deep, dark thoughts ran through my head as I stared out upon the crystal waters that Jim had died in.

"Jim...I promise I will do anything, _**ANYTHING**_, just to see you smile at me...one last time..."

I lowered my head back onto Jim's, closing my eyes.

"_Anything_..."


End file.
